Choosing a college major was difficult enough when only a handful existed. Now, hundreds of majors are available to choose from—including new and intriguing areas such as exercise studies or informatics. Fortunately, all these college majors fall into six types. Contemplating hundreds of possibilities may cause panic, but skimming six general categories helps winnow things down. Here they are:

Arts-Related Majors

Contrary to popular opinion and operatic plots, art majors do not have to starve. The majors shown here represent a variety of deeply creative and artistic pursuits, each with many specialties. (Asterisks mark the traditionally competitive majors, which may be difficult to get into or require auditions, portfolios, and recommendations.) So if your college kid is interested in one, they should check requirements early.

Science and Math-Related Majors

Over the last 30 years, the sciences have exploded into an extravagant array of possibilities. Some, such as bioengineering, can be very competitive to get into. Most of these have stringent GPA and prerequisite coursework requirements. Pre-med students typically choose a major from this list, although statistically, music students stand a better chance of acceptance at med school.​